Anuja Khemka has been named Executive Director of the Steve Fund, the nation’s only non-profit focused on the mental health of students of color.

NEW YORK, NY, February 6, 2018 — Anuja Khemka, MSW, a former Vice President at the JPMorgan Chase Global Philanthropy group, Program Officer at the Goldman Sachs Foundation, and nonprofit consultant has been named Executive Director of the Steve Fund. The three -year-old non-profit is the nation’s only organization focused on the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color.

Anuja Khemka

Mrs. Khemka has been serving as the Steve Fund’s Senior Strategy and Programs Adviser since the early days of the Fund. She was instrumental in many of the Fund’s major projects. Her recent focus was on expanding the Steve Fund’s Programs and Services to assist colleges, universities and nonprofits, including workshops, webinars, expert speakers, training and technical assistance led by multicultural mental health research and practice experts.

Anuja Khemka has 15 years of experience working in the corporate and philanthropic sector focusing on corporate social responsibility, grants management and program implementation, thought leadership, and fundraising. Khemka was a Vice President at the JPMorgan Chase Global Philanthropy group focusing on business management, strategy, and communications. Previously, she was a Program Officer at the Goldman Sachs Foundation managing a large portfolio of grantees and supporting program planning, evaluation, and capacity building. Prior to that, Khemka worked at the Private Equity Group in Goldman Sachs focusing on investor relations/fundraising, as well as Institutional sales in the Goldman Sachs Asset Management where she worked with the firm’s largest clients in the US and Canada.

Khemka was a Management Fellow at Columbia University, where she received her Masters in Social Work. She completed her undergraduate studies at Brown University with a BA in Business Economics. Her work in philanthropy has been featured in Huffington Post, Forbes, the New York Times and Stanford Social Innovation Review.

“Anuja Khemka has been instrumental not only in the creation of the Fund but in making it what it is today,” says Evan Rose, President of the Board of the Steve Fund. “Her leadership has made the Steve Fund the nation’s go-to place for all matters related to supporting the mental health of students of color. We are thrilled that Anuja has accepted the board’s offer to become Executive Director.”

“I am incredibly excited to be given the opportunity to lead the Steve Fund at a time when our mission of improving support for the mental health of students of color at America’s colleges and universities has become even more pressing. I truly believe that the Fund, together with its strategic partners and supporters, will be able to create transformational change in America’s higher education institutions, to the benefit of students of color, and ultimately, to the benefit of all students.”

Studies show that students of color at American colleges and universities are almost twice as likely not to seek help when they feel depressed or anxious. They also report more micro-aggressions than their European American counterparts. These mental health disparities also correlate to persistence outcomes. Only 49% of African Americans students complete their 4-year college education, compared to 71% of white, non-Hispanic students, according to a CollegeBoard report.

Recent activities of the Steve Fund include:

The publication, in partnership with the Jed Foundation, of the Equity in Mental Health Framework, with ten evidence-informed recommendations and implementation strategies for improving support of the mental health of students of color on college and university campuses.

A partnership with Crisis Text Line, an online crisis support service, and with the Knight Foundation to enable students of color to text the keyword “Steve” to 741741 to be connected with a trained crisis counselor.

Steve Fund scholarships for young scholars to research psychological challenges confronting their respective populations, in cooperation with four notable U.S. mental health organizations.

A convening for more than 350 leaders in mental health and higher education for the Steve Fund’s fourth annual Young, Gifted & @Risk Conference in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania last November.

Partnerships with organizations such as Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), the NAACP, and Management Leadership for Tomorrow as part of the Steve Fund’s efforts to bring mental health programming to organizations serving people of color.

In 2018, the Steve Fund plans to focus on supporting implementation of the Equity in Mental Health Framework at higher-education institutions, expanding the Steve Fund’s Knowledge Center and Programs and Services, adding activities that support young people of color in the transition from college to life beyond, and expanding the Fund’s activities that support their families.

About the Steve Fund

The Steve Fund is the nation’s only organization focused on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color. The Steve Fund works with colleges and universities, non-profits, researchers, mental health experts, families, and young people to promote programs and strategies that build understanding and assistance for the mental and emotional health of the nation’s young people of color. The Fund holds an annual conference, Young, Gifted & @Risk, offers a Knowledge Center with curated expert information, delivers on-campus and on-site programs and services at colleges and non-profits nationwide, and through tech partnerships provides direct services to young people of color.